Spray technologies are a well known and commonly utilized feature in a variety of industrial processes. Depending upon the particular process, suitable liquids and/or gases can be applied for a variety of reasons including, for example, cleaning, etching, cooling, heating, coating, descaling, blasting, sanitizing, or surface preparation of hard or soft surfaces as part of an overall process or as a stand-alone operation. Regardless of the specific application, spray technology applications generally involve selection of the appropriate liquids and/or gases to be sprayed, a spray nozzle designed for the intended spray process, and a means of positioning or actuating the nozzle relative to an item or surface to be sprayed. For many industries utilizing spray applications, the science involving selection of the appropriate liquid and/or gas for a given process is well established, while in other industries, new chemistries and processes are being continually developed. In addition to selecting the appropriate liquids and/or gases for spray application, other process variables generally involve the configuration of the spray action as well as its shape, intensity, pulsation frequency, coverage area and angle of impingement on an item or surface to be affected.
As it relates to the processing of food products, spray technologies have been utilized in the washing, cleaning and/or sanitization thereof. In the particular instance of processing meat products, such as red meat, pork and/or poultry, finishing cabinets having an oscillating spray bar assembly have been utilized to spray the respective carcass that often is suspended from overhead conveyors so as carry the carcasses through the cabinets during the meat processing. Located within the spray cabinet are a series of horizontally positioned spray headers with spray nozzles located down the length. The spray nozzles are positioned to direct the spray towards the surface of the meat as it traverses the length of the cabinet. The spray bars are mechanically linked to an oscillating drive that rotates each spray assembly in an up and down motion. The oscillating spray assembly is directed in an up/down repeating pattern, wherein a fluid source is generally sprayed from the spray nozzles and against the carcasses, either during both of the “up stroke” and “down stroke” or only when the spray assembly is on the down stroke. The oscillating spray bar assembly can operate within an angular path range of less than 90 degrees, and more conventionally, approximately 75 degrees. In this conventional installation, each oscillating spray bar assembly is oscillated through the down stroke range and back in approximately 1 second. These oscillating spray bar assemblies, however, are not very efficient.
Generally, there are two primary goals in a typical spray cabinet operation in meat processing facilities. The first is the removal of debris, bone fragments, loose fats and materials generated during evisceration and found on the outer surface of the meat. The second function and the most important part of the process is the reduction of the bacteria load resulting from the spread of bacteria laden materials during the evisceration process.
Bacteria are spread from one surface to another during the evisceration process by contact with other bacteria laden surfaces. Their numbers natural multiply unless the process is designed to combat the spread and growth of bacteria with antimicrobial chemistries or sufficiently high water temperatures. Antimicrobial chemistries are infused into the water supply prior to being delivered to the spray assembly. The water spray is used to mechanically remove surface materials and the infused chemistry or water temperature affects the bacteria load.
Surface materials are removed by the impact force of the water on the surface of the meat and therefore a single direction flow in a downward direction is beneficial as compared to the spray of water in both the up and down direction. Debris and bacteria are caused to flow in the direction of the water flow stream and therefore when spraying the surface on the up stroke of the spray assembly, these materials are allowed to dislodge from a lower surface and be deposited at a position which is located above their previous position. This leads to an increase in water consumption along with the chemicals or heated water. Furthermore, with the conventional oscillating spray bar assemblies spraying only during the down stroke, the spray does not continuously impact the surface of the meat nor does it continually maintain the downward directional flow as the spray stops at the bottom of the “down stroke” until the assembly traverses the angular path range and reaches a top starting position before spraying the carcass again.
While a variety of spray technologies and processes exist, it would be desirable to further advance the technology. Specifically, it would be advantageous to have spray technologies that combine enhanced spray coverage with decreased waste, and the associate costs, of the liquids and/or gases to be sprayed. It would also be advantageous to have spray technologies that provide continuous, uninterrupted spraying onto the desired material with the highest total surface spray impact dwell time.